Lowell General Hospital Awarded “A” Grade by Hospital Safety Score

Lowell General Hospital was honored with an "A" grade in the Fall 2013 update to the Hospital Safety Score, which rates how well hospitals protect patients from accidents, errors, injuries and infections. The Hospital Safety Score is compiled under the guidance of the nation's leading experts on patient safety and is administered by The Leapfrog Group (Leapfrog), an independent industry watchdog. The first and only hospital safety rating to be analyzed in the peer-reviewed Journal of Patient Safety, the Score is designed to give the public information they can use to protect themselves and their families.

"At Lowell General Hospital, we take great pride in providing the highest quality of care to all of our patients and their families," says Joseph White, President of Lowell General Hospital. "Our exemplary Leapfrog ratings highlight the importance that our physicians and staff place on patient safety as they strive to deliver our promise of Complete connected care to our community."

"As patients begin to take a more active role in selecting where to receive health care, it has never been more important to focus on hospital safety and transparency. The 'A' hospitals, including Lowell General Hospital, are helping us to raise the standards of health care nationwide," said Leah Binder, president and CEO of Leapfrog. "We offer our congratulations and hope the hospital will continue to strive for an ever-increasing level of excellence in patient safety."

To see Lowell General's scores as they compare nationally and locally, and to find safety tips for patients and their loved ones, visit the Hospital Safety Score website. Local hospitals' scores are also available on the free mobile app.

Calculated under the guidance of Leapfrog's Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety Score uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single "A," "B," "C," "D," or "F" score representing a hospital's overall capacity to keep patients safe from preventable harm. More than 2,500 general U.S. hospitals were assigned scores this Fall. A full analysis of the data and methodology used is available on the Hospital Safety Score website.

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